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  • 1.
    Aare, Kätlin
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics, Phonetics.
    Respiratory patterns and turn-taking in spontaneous Estonian: Inhalation amplitude in multiparty conversations2015Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This thesis explores the relationship between inhalation amplitude and turn-taking in spontaneous multiparty conversations held in Estonian. Respiratory activity is recorded with Respiratory Inductance Plethysmography. The main focus is on how inhalation amplitude varies between the inhalations produced directly before turn onset compared to the following inhalations within the same speaking turn. The results indicate a significant difference in amplitude, realised mainly by an increase in inhalation end lung volume values. One of the possible functions of this pattern is to signal an intention of taking the conversational turn. Another could be a phrasing or grouping function connected to lower inhalation amplitudes within turns.

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    fulltext
  • 2.
    Abdulahad, Leila
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Gender representation in Swedish upper secondary ESL: a study on the representation of binary and non-binary genders and LGBTQIA in textbooks2022Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Gender representation is a core part of a democratic society. Gender has evolved past the heteronormative construction and is more of a continuum (Fausto-Sterling, 2000 in Motschenbacher, 2011). Educational materials are therefore an important tool where the school system can ensure inclusivity of the non-binary and LGBTQIA+ community. Previous research on English as a second language (ESL) textbooks used in secondary and upper secondary schools around the world have shown a gender imbalance with the male gender being dominant (Bahman and Rahimi, 2010; Barton and Sakwa, 2012: Brusokaitė and Verikaite-Gaigalienė, 2015). The present study is investigating the coverage of binary, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters in digital textbooks in upper secondary Swedish schools (English, 5, 6, 7) by employing a content analysis. The content analysis was initiated by first considering female, male, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters. The pronouns and names were supported by extending the analyses to adjectives and adverbs of manner used to describe the binary and non-binary genders and the activities performed by them. Data of adjectives and adverbs of manner connected to the binary, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ identities were also collected from the three selected textbooks. The findings reveal that there is a gender imbalance regarding the visibility of the female gender. In two out of the three textbooks male dominance is prevalent with approximately 30 % more male visibility. Non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters are almost non-existent in the three selected textbooks, with a very limited number of characters included. The analysis also showed that there are multiple occurrences of gender-marked (Stanley, 1977) adjectives. However, the conclusion of the analysis of the adjective is that there is no gender bias because of the variation of the adjectives. 

  • 3.
    Adler, Aleksandra
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Institute for Interpreting and Translation Studies.
    Perifera kulturer i kontakt?: Indirekt översättning av hebreisk skönlitteratur till svenska2016Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The following product–oriented study deals with translational norms operating in indirect translation of Hebrew literature into Swedish. The research was conducted as a contrastive study of Extra–linguistic Cultural References (ECR) based on Toury’s (1995/2012) coupled pairs and supplemented with Pedersen’s typology (2011). The material consisted of 3 x 136 coupled pairs excerpted from a collection of short stories written by an Israeli high–prestige writer Amos Oz and translated into Swedish through English. Both translations were carried out by high–prestige translators. The results suggest that indirect literary translation follows the adequacy norm in accordance with the hypothesis on high–prestige translation (Lindqvist 2002). The hypothesis on acceptancy norms operating in indirect translation is rejected. 

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    Adler Aleksandra (VT2016) Perifera kulturer i kontakt?
  • 4.
    af Klintberg, Juli
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Akademiskt svenskt teckenspråk: En undersökning av akademiska kännetecken2018Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The purpose is to investigate the characteristics that may be considered in academic Swedish Sign Language and which in turn will help a larger number of students produce their essays in academic Swedish Sign Language. Recorded material from lectures, made by four deaf graduates and from the Sign Language corpus, where two deaf academics were also involved, and some randomly chosen in-formants, were investigated. The results from the academic Swedish Sign Language were compared to the characteristics that identify with the academic American Sign Language. There need to be more knowledge and research on this subject.

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    Akademiskt svenskt teckenspråk
  • 5.
    af Sandeberg, Susanne
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Engelskundervisningens betydelse för elever med dyslexi2010Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Studien belyser och diskuterar hur undervisning i engelska inom grundskola och gymnasium samt antagningsregler till högskola kan påverka möjligheten att utbilda sig i tekniska ämnen för personer med dyslexi. Studien belyser att det finns en hel del som tyder på att undervisningen i engelska i grundskola och gymnasium ofta inte är anpassad till de elever som har fonologiska svårigheter, och att detta kan få avgörande betydelse för deras framtid.

    I en första delstudie görs en enkätundersökning bland engelsklärare i grundskola och gymnasium för att se om de har goda möjligheter att undervisa elever med dyslexi. Undersökningen visar bland annat att det har funnits brister på lärarhögskolor när det gäller utbildningen om läs- och skrivsvårigheter/dyslexi.

    81 % av de 33 lärare som har engelska i sin utbildning svarar att de inte har fått kunskap om läs- och skrivsvårigheter/dyslexi som hjälper dem i undervisningen i engelska. Undersökningen visar också att flera kommuner inte ger lärarna den fortbildning de behöver och att många lärare upplever en vardag med tidsbrist, för få alternativa verktyg och för stora undervisningsgrupper.

    I en andra delstudie belyses framgångsfaktorer i engelska för elever med dyslexi. Fyra högskolestudenter som har dyslexi djupintervjuas, samtliga går fjärde året på utbildningen till civilingenjör. Två av studenterna har MVG i engelska B från gymnasiet och två har inte läst engelska B.

    I en tredje studie görs en jämförelse mellan gymnasiebetygen i engelska för 30 studenter med dyslexi på civilingenjörsprogrammet och en kontrollgrupp. Studien visar bland annat att det är 10 % av dyslektikerna som inte skulle ha kommit in på utbildningen på grundval av sina betyg om de hade sökt hösten 2010 när det är nya antagningsregler med högre språkkrav.

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    FULLTEXT01
  • 6.
    Afyonoglu Kirbas, Yeliz
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics, General Linguistics.
    Neuronal activity to environmental sounds when presented together with semantically related words: An MMN study on monolingual and bilingual processing of homophones2019Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Neuronal activity of monolingual and bilinguals to environmental sounds and words that are semantically related to them were studied using the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of event-related potentials. MMN was expected to reflect the language selection process in bilinguals on the bases of semantics and phonology. In this regard, as lexical stimuli, interlingual homophones ‘car’ and ‘kar’ (snow) were presented together with semantically related environmental sounds in a passive auditory oddball paradigm. The lexical stimuli were recorded by a native English speaker. Three Turkish-English late bilinguals and one native English speaker participated in the study. An early MMN was elicited in both groups with a distribution over the fronto-central and central areas across the scalp with highest peak amplitude at -2.5 with a 113 ms latency. This response indicates that participants of the study were sensitive to the acoustic changes in two different types of stimuli. The further investigation of the interplay between environmental sounds and semantics displayed no conclusive result due to lack of data. Finally, the brain responses gathered from the bilinguals were not enough to draw a conclusion. Whether the bilinguals were sensitive to the sub-phonemic cues in the presented auditory lexical stimuli or not were inconclusive.

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    fulltext
  • 7.
    Ahlström, isabelle
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    ¿Auténtica, o no? La conversación en los materiales auditivos para la enseñanza de español L2: Un estudio cualitativo2021Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [es]

    En este estudio cualitativo de caso, el objetivo es analizar algunas características de la interacción verbal en tres conversaciones grabadas de tres manuales de ELE empleados en varias escuelas suecas, en específico: Vistas 3, Próxima Estación 3 y Caminando 3, para describir cuánto se aleja/se acerca a las características del habla cotidiana el idioma de los materiales auditivos para la enseñanza del español L2. La investigación se basa en el la teoría y el método del análisis de la conversación y en sus descubrimientos sobre la interacción espontánea. Los resultados del análisis detallado de las conversaciones grabadas revelan algunos patrones problemáticos. Por un lado, en cuanto a la secuencialidad de las acciones se muestra la falta de coordinación, de participación y de atención al co-participante y, por el otro lado, se presencian silencios largos entre los turnos de los hablantes que no suelen aparecer en una conversación natural. Otros fenómenos típicos de la interacción espontánea, como por ejemplo, reparaciones, co-construcciones y solapamientos, están ausentes en las conversaciones de los manuales. Por consiguiente, para un mejor aprendizaje del ELE creemos que es muy necesario disponer de mejores materiales didácticos, que reflejen mejor el habla auténtico, y que el profesorado reciba formación sobre las características de la lengua hablada.

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    fulltext
  • 8.
    Ahltorp, Magnus
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Verb och deras ideofoner i japansk bloggtext2020Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Ideophones are widely used in Japanese and are important to learn, but present big challenges for L2 speakers. This study investigates the contexts that ideophones in Japanese occur in, specifically what verbs are often modified by ideophones and those ideophones. A Japanese blog corpus consisting of 5.5 billion tokens was split up into tokens, tagged with part of speech and dependency relations and then searched. At a significance level of 0.001, 2398 verbs were found to often be modified by ideophones, and 52179 collocations of verbs and ideophones were found. The number of unique ideophones were 756. This shows that ideophones are used in many contexts where there is a relationship between ideophone and verb. The 20 highest ranked collocations were examined. Most contained depictions of sensory imagery normally not expressed by ideophones in many languages, and which might therefore be difficult for many L2 speakers.

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    Ahltorp_verb_ideofoner_japansk_bloggtext.pdf
  • 9.
    Akdag, Gonca
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    La efectividad del translenguaje en la enseñanza de ELE. Un estudio sobre las actitudes de (los) profesores de español hacia el translenguaje en el aula de ELE.2021Independent thesis Basic level (professional degree), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
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    fulltext
  • 10.
    Akdag, Gonca
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The role of music in the English language classroom: A qualitative study of teachers' beliefs and practices in Swedish schools2021Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Music has been used as a teaching approach in ELT for a long time and the rapid accessibility to music has enabled both teachers and students to use it more. The positive effects of music on language learning are many; however, the use of music in the English language classroom is still debated. Although there are many previous studies about the use of music for language learning, to improve vocabulary for example, there are few studies regarding teachers’ beliefs and practices in relation to the use of music in the English classroom. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the role music has in the English language classroom and this will be done by examining teachers’ beliefs and practices of using music to improve English vocabulary learning. The research questions for the present study are as follows: 1. What are the differences between upper secondary and lower secondary school teachers in regards to their beliefs and practices of using music in the EFL classroom? 2. How do teachers incorporate music as a teaching unit in the EFL classroom? 3. What are the beliefs of teachers regarding the effects of music on English vocabulary learning? The study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with four teachers: two upper secondary and two lower secondary school teachers. The chosen analysis for the study was thematic analysis as it is best suited for transcriptions. The results of the study showed that there are no big differences in teachers’ beliefs and practices. They all believe that music has positive effects on students’ vocabulary learning. The upper secondary school teachers believe that there are many materials of music whereas the lower secondary school teachers believe that music presents new things such as new words for example. Moreover, most of the teachers believe that music increases motivation, interest, and attention. In addition, although the teachers believe that music can be used for all skills, they mainly use it for listening and writing exercises. However, the upper secondary school teachers focus more on the writing skill while the lower secondary school teachers focus more on the listening skill. The teachers use music in many ways such as word gap exercises, interpreting/writing lyrics, guessing lyrics, and as aids in discussions about history. In general, the teachers believe that music has positive effects on vocabulary learning as it engages the students in repetition of words, and enables them to analyse and translate lyrics, to encounter new words and to explain them.

     

    Keywords:

    Music, teachers’ beliefs, teachers’ practices, EFL, vocabulary learning.

     

  • 11.
    Aktürk, Memet
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Centre for Research on Bilingualism.
    Periphery Effects in Phonological Integration: Turkish suffixation of Swedish proper nouns by advanced bilinguals2008Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 15 credits / 22,5 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This essay investigates how certain word-final Swedish rimes are integrated phonologically into Turkish by means of suffixation. Specific Swedish rimes have been selected for their unusual characteristics from the perspective of Turkish phonology such as vowel and consonant quantity as well as coda phonotactics. The data have been collected in an experiment, which involved the oral translation of a Swedish text including potential borrowings such as proper names and place names. The participants were advanced bilingual speakers of the standard varieties of Turkish and Swedish living in Stockholm. Two phonological properties of Turkish are relevant for this essay. Firstly, every word-final rime must have a vocalic, palatal and labial classification in order to be licensed for suffixation. Secondly, Turkish has a large and diverse periphery in its phonological lexicon due to faithful or partially faithful adaptation of a plethora of historical loanwords. The focus of the investigation is if the new borrowings are integrated into the core or into the periphery of the Turkish phonological lexicon or alternatively how faithful their integration is to the Swedish originals. In terms of resolving j-final coda cluster problems, the popular strategies are found to be palatalization, deletion and metathesis. The main body of data displays low faithfulness to the Swedish originals as well as an underutilization of the Turkish periphery. The participants are found to use the periphery of their phonological lexicon to a high degree for established words in Turkish but only to a limited extent when adapting new borrowings from Swedish into Turkish. This finding is explained by the fact that the structural and sociolinguistic conditions are not conducive to periphery maintenance in the present context in contrast to the historical context during the inflow of Arabic and Persian loanwords.

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    fulltext
  • 12.
    Al Ansari-Imad, Ali
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    A quantitative study on the application and comprehension of English connectors by Swedish L2 learners of English in upper secondary schools2017Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study focuses on L2 learners of English in Swedish upper secondary schools and their ability to comprehend and use connectors in a multiple-choice cloze procedure. Connectors are used in text to signal the text structure and make explicit the relation between text segments. A study by Geva (1992) suggests that with an increased proficiency, learners also improve their ability to comprehend text relations and the use of connectors. The present study applies the suggestions of Geva’s results in a Swedish context. English in Swedish upper secondary schools, is taught at three levels (designated English 5, 6, 7) with increasing difficulty and proficiency level requirements. This study tests the ability to comprehend the context and use the correct connector on pupils in the two mandatory courses (English 5 & 6). Similar to previous studies, the aim is to investigate the relationship between levels of English and the ability to use connectors. This empirical survey investigates the English 5 & 6 pupils’ success in applying the appropriate connector in relation to the level of English they are placed in, in order to analyze whether there is any perceived development, as is presupposed by the English curriculum. Furthermore, the study also aims to analyze what type of connectors the pupils excel at or struggle with and any factors that might affect pupils’ performance. The test consisted of three categories: adversative (6 questions), additive (5 questions), and causal connectors (4 questions), a total of 15 questions, with one point being awarded for each correct response. The results of the two groups were similar and a subsequent t-test revealed that there was no statistical significance between the two groups in any of the categories. This suggests that in the sample which was tested there is no proficiency increase in terms of connectors and comprehending inter-/intrasentential relationships. Furthermore, the results indicate that the pupils are more likely to correctly select the appropriate adversative and causal connectors, but struggled in selecting the additive connectors.

    Keywords: connectors, comprehension, intrasentential & intersentential relationships, teaching, coherence, cohesion

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    fulltext
  • 13.
    Al Taai, Lamia
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, The Institute for Interpretation and Translation Studies.
    A Comparison of Arabic Literature Translation into English and Swedish: Inverstigating Domestication in the Translation of Arabic Cultural Words - Imarat Yaqubyan as acase in point2011Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Imarat Yaqubyan is a contemporary Arabic novel that encompasses an intensive and variable Arabic culture; this study contains a survey in tables of cultural words, according to Newmark’s categories, “material culture”, “social culture”, “originations”, and  “gestures and habits”, as well as their correspondences in the English and the Swedish translated novel versions. In this tripled language study, Arabic, English and Swedish, I undertake a qualitative comparison between the translation strategies used by each translator of the English and Swedish versions. For this purpose I apply the taxonomy of translation strategies established by Pedersen, which is divided first into SL-oriented strategies categorized into “Retention”, “Specification” and “Direct Translation”, and secondly the TL-oriented that includes “Generalization”, “Substitution” and “Omission”, as well as the “Official Equivalent”. Through my analyses process, I link Newmark’s metaphors types, terminology and the seven procedures of translating metaphors with Pedersen’s strategies.  In this study, Pedersen’s SL and TL-oriented translation strategies are considered to correspond to Venuti’s terminology of domestication and foreignization. Conclusions are drawn about the use of domesticating strategies in certain cultural words categories of both English and Swedish versions. The study devises the term “False Domestication”.

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    magister.Lamia H11
  • 14.
    Alfranca, Cristina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    Saludos, rechazos y peticiones en la interlengua de aprendices suecos de español2021Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
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    fulltext
  • 15.
    Alfranca Ramón, Cristina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The representation of speech acts in EFL textbooks in Sweden: An investigation of greetings, requests and refusals in input and output and teacher insights2021Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The teaching of pragmatics is often neglected in foreign language classes despite the wellknown importance of pragmatic competence. No matter how well a learner masters thetarget language, errors of a pragmatic nature may lead to major communicative failure orturbulence. Both studies in language teaching and current language educational laws inSweden (following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) pointtowards the necessity for the learner to be pragmatically proficient. Following these lines,textbooks are expected to mirror curricula and educational laws. The present study aimsto address this very issue and investigates the pragmatic content of ELT books in Swedenwith a specific focus on lower and upper secondary school (year 6, 9 and last year ofupper secondary school). The study has as its primary data set three ELT books from thesame publisher and extensively used in Swedish schools, namely Good Stuff Gold A,Good Stuff Gold D, and Blueprint C 2.0. The presence of pragmatic content isinvestigated through the method of content analysis of the textbooks focusing on threespeech acts - greetings, requests, and refusals. The first part of the study is complementedby semi-structured interviews complemented with two teachers of English in Sweden.The findings point to considerable differences in the representation of the three speechacts in the books, with regression from lower to higher levels, and the interviews with theteachers reveal that teachers' complementary activities often compensate for the lack ofpragmatic content in the books. The findings from the present study reveal shortcomingsof the selected textbooks omitting important information, something that might hinderstudents from developing communicative competence. The findings of the present studyhave the potential to inform the practices of teaching professionals in their efforts to teachpragmatic competence.

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    Alfranca.pdf
  • 16.
    Allertz, Frida
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work.
    Att motivera och/eller manipulera: En begreppsutredande litteraturstudie2011Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study aims to theoretically investigate the concepts of the interpersonal actions 'to motivate' and 'to manipulate' and also to examine possible differences and similarities between the two. The method used is a conceptual review based on the Self-Determination Theory, related to the concept of motivation, and Machiavellianism, related to the concept of manipu-lation. The results show that 'to motivate', according to Self-Determination Theory, concerns influencing the intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, where intrinsic motivation is related to the feeling of self-determination, inner locus of causality, being or feeling competent and exercise activities for the pleasure of it, whilst extrinsic motivation is related to external locus of cau-sality, external pressure and engaging in activities for the purpose of reaching a goal or re-ward. 'To manipulate' is according to Machiavellianism based on the manipulator doing whatever it takes to reach a certain goal and gain something for himself with no regard of what methods being used. The comparative analysis showed that the crucial difference in how an behaviour is interpreted as either, or both, motivating and manipulative is based on who is doing the interpretation, what information she has and which aspects that are focused on.

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    FridaAllertz-Att motivera ocheller manipulera
  • 17.
    Almgren, Anders
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    2008Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This essay will focus on the actions taken by a translator to rid a children’s book of sexist content. First of all the sexist content in the book is located by studying the criticism (of sexist content) the book in question has received since it was published. By using the translation theory of shifts these actions will be exemplified and further discussed by the use of other translation theories.

    With the translator’s actions in focus certain translation strategies will be compared to the ones taken by the translator of the book. The shifts made in the translation will be located, presented and explained. Finally a discussion, of the problems occurring when editing a translation in order to change the effect on the reader and about the responsibilities of translators, will follow.

  • 18.
    Alp, Efrim Daniel
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Swedish Upper-secondary school students’ exposure to and acquisition of the English language2017Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The aim of this sociolinguistic essay was to investigate differences and similarities between how the English language is encountered and used in a suburban school compared to an inner-city school. Moreover, the primary material was collected with the use of a questionnaire, answered by 22 and 26 students between the ages of 16-19 years old from two upper-secondary schools. The results obtained from this study highlight that the students irrespective of their social backgrounds encountered and used the English language in similar ways. However, in relation to the acquisition of the language, the results highlighted that the students who came from a high socio-economic background had an advantage compared to their peers who shared an immigrant or migrant background in the sense that they to a higher extent came from an academic household which can be beneficial regarding language exposure and acquisition. Nevertheless, the differentiating factors behind that advantage were reduced to some extent by the role of social media.

  • 19.
    Alrup, Malin
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Scandinavian Languages.
    ”Välj vego”: En argumentations- och legitimeringsanalytisk studie av Djurens Rätts webbtexter.2018Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    I denna uppsats undersöks språkliga strategier i tre webbtexter från den ideella organisationen Djurens Rätt. Djurens Rätt måste i sina texter möta kommunikativa utmaningar i form av en diversifierad målgrupp och att fylla olika syften, eller funktioner, i texterna. Dessa funktioner innebär dels att försöka väcka intresse hos mottagaren för innehållet i texterna och dels att försöka påverka mottagarens attityder till en djurvänlig livsstil. För att undersöka olika strategier använder jag mig av argumentationsanalys och legitimeringsanalys.

     

    Undersökningen visar på olika fynd, bland annat att Djurens Rätt i sina webbtexter arbetar mycket med auktoriteter, konsekvenser och exempel, men att de däremot inte arbetar med berättelser, explicita teser eller analogier. Dessa strategier verkar för att beroende av ämnet i den aktuella texten väcka mottagarens intresse eller påverka dennes attityder. Användningen av argument och legitimeringar beror på flera faktorer: ämnet, den tänkta målgruppen och den tänkta funktionen i den specifika texten. Djurens Rätt verkar även arbeta mycket med kunskap och förmedlingen av denna. Genom språket legitimeras denna kunskap, och att följa en vegansk kost.

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    "Välj vego"
  • 20.
    Altinisik, Mathias
    et al.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Centre for Research on Bilingualism.
    Nicolausson, Joel
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Centre for Research on Bilingualism.
    Grammatiska svårigheter hos andraspråksinlärare med finska som modersmål2020Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Vi har uppmärksammat att andraspråkselever med finska som modersmål har svårt att tillämpa olika grammatiska fenomen som finns i det svenska språket. Detta har väckt vårt intresse för det aktuella temat och därför vill vi i denna uppsats fördjupa våra kunskaper samt undersöka orsakerna till specifika svårigheter som finska andraspråksinlärare tenderar att ha i det svenska språket. I denna uppsats kommer vi att fokusera på de grammatiska fenomen som leder till svårigheter i andraspråksinlärningen hos tvåspråkiga högstadieelever med finska som modersmål. I uppsatsen försöker vi förklara de grammatiska felen genom att analysera skriftliga texter som andraspråksinlärarna med finska som modersmål har skapat. Syftet med vår undersökning är att få en bredare uppfattning av vad som orsakar de grammatiska felen i de tvåspråkiga elevernas skriftliga produktion och som stöd kommer vi att använda oss av både en kvalitativ och kvantitativ forskningsmetod för att besvara undersökningens frågeställningar. Undersökningsmaterialet består av 22 autentiska texter som högstadieelever med finska som modersmål från årskurs 7 till 9 har skriftligt producerat. Dessa elever har en lång studiebakgrund och började studera det svenska språket i årskurs 6 i Finland innan de flyttade till Sverige. De analyserade elevtexterna producerades under olika tillfällen och är skrivna utifrån olika teman och genrer. Resultatet påvisar att de flesta grammatiska felen som eleverna gör vid skriftlig produktion av svenska uppstår dels av en negativ transfer, så kallad interferens, från modersmålet, dels av att modersmålet saknar målspråkets strukturer. Detta kan utrönas genom att bland annat jämföra de grammatiska strukturerna i både det svenska och finska språket; en kontrastiv analys tar vid. De fel som den kontrastiva analysen inte kunde förklara kan tänkbart uppstå av inlärningsspråkets komplexitet, övergeneraliseringar, att inläraren inte besitter tillräckliga grammatiska kunskaper i målspråket samt att inläraren använt sig av kommunikationsstrategier.

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    Grammatiska svårigheter hos andraspråksinlärare med finska som modersmål Altinisik & Nicolausson
  • 21.
    Amdaouech, Omar
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Speech Acts in Holy Scriptures: An Investigation of the Usage of Speech Acts in the Qur’an2022Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study focuses on pragmatics and more specifically on the study of speech acts. It aims to investigate which speech acts can be found in three chapters of the Holy Qur’an. It also aims to categorise the speech acts that are found in these chapters and to examine whether some types of speech act are more common than others. Furthermore, two different translated English versions of the Qur’an were analysed in the study in order to also investigate if translation affected the categorisation of speech acts. The chapters, or surahs, chosen for this study are Surah Ash-Sharh, Surah Az-Zalzalah and lastly Surah At-Takathur. The methodology for the study was qualitative textual analysis, and each verse of each surah was analysed and categorised as belonging to a certain type of speech act. The five different categories of speech acts were commissives, representatives, directives, expressives and declaratives. The results of the study show that in surah Ash-Sharh there were two commissives and six directives. Secondly, surah Az-Zalzalah had four commissives and four representatives. Lastly, surah At-Takathur had six commissives and two representatives. Moreover, the results of the study also showed that half of the speech acts found in these three chapters were commissives, making it the most common speech act type and twice as common as representatives and directives. Finally, the results also showed that translation did not influence the categorisation of the speech acts. In other words, the classification of the speech acts was identical for both translated versions of the chapters. 

  • 22.
    Amo Laffitte, Francisco Javier
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    Spanglish Vs Yanito: Análisis de fenómenos pragmáticos en la mezcla de código lingüístico2022Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [es]

    Desde hace casi 300 años junto al estrecho de Gibraltar pervive una colonia inglesa en la que conviven dos lenguas, inglés y español. La primera es la lengua oficial de la colonia y la segunda es la lengua de contacto de las poblaciones limítrofes. A más de 5000 km de Gibraltar, se encuentran la lengua inglesa y española entre la población de origen hispano residente en EEUU. El objetivo del presente estudio es comparar las estrategias de atenuación, actos de habla e imagen social que tienen lugar durante la mezcla de códigos entre inglés y español en estos dos contextos diferentes para, de esta manera, ver si podemos hallar similitudes y diferencias en el uso de fenómenos pragmáticos en la mezcla de códigos de español e inglés entre el spanglish y el yanito. Para ello analizamos la mezcla de códigos en las oraciones de dos conversaciones informales de extensión similar con el objetivo de encontrar una respuesta al objeto de nuestro estudio. Primero seleccionamos las oraciones donde se produce el cambio de código siguiendo el método de análisis de contenido temático. Posteriormente analizamos el contenido de una conversación telefónica en yanito y el podcast de una entrevista de radio en spanglish desde el punto de vista pragmático, identificando las estrategias de atenuación, actos de habla y la imagen social de afiliación/autonomía en ambos corpus. Los resultados más significativos sugieren que desde el punto de vista pragmático en yanito se busca influir más en la interlocutora, pero manteniendo una mayor intención de afiliación, mientras que en spanglish se tiende más a acotar lo dicho, justificando y usando con mayor frecuencia la imagen social de autonomía. En ambos casos el acto ilocutivo más empleado es el asertivo, sin embargo, en spanglish se da un mayor número de actos expresivos.

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  • 23.
    Anagnostopoulou, Revekka Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism.
    Exploring the effect of stimulus list composition on the Cognate Facilitation Effect in bilingual lexical decision: A study of Danish-Swedish bilinguals2022Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Cognate words have a shared orthographic and semantic representation across languages: kniv (‘knife’) in Danish means the same as kniv in Swedish. Their shared form and meaning give cognates a special status in the bilingual mental lexicon and there is robust evidence that because of this special status they are processed faster than non-cognate words. This effect is called the Cognate Facilitation Effect and represents strong evidence that bilinguals do not have two separate mental lexicons, but rather one integrated lexicon for both of their languages with nonselective access. The present study is a replication of Vanlangendonck et al. (2020) with a different language constellation. For the aims of this project, early and late Danish-Swedish bilinguals were recruited to examine the effect of stimulus list composition on the Cognate Facilitation Effect by means of two experiments: one language-specific visual lexical decision task that contained control words from the participants’ L2 (Swedish), a set of cognates, interlingual homographs and pseudowords, and a second task in which half of the pseudowords were replaced by Danish (L2) words that had to evoke a “no” response. This change from a pure to a mixed list was expected to increase response competition and turn cognate facilitation into inhibition. However, the results showed a null Cognate Facilitation Effect both for early and for late bilinguals. These findings are discussed in terms of the assumptions of the BIA+ model of bilingual lexical processing and it is suggested that the presence of language-specific diacritics in the stimulus list has hindered the emergence of the Cognate Facilitation Effect.

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  • 24.
    Andersson Eriksson, Louise
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Domänen SVÅRIGHETER i svenska bloggtexter: Det svåra, hårda, tunga och komplicerade livet2020Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Ett ord kan ha flera betydelser, vilket innebär att betydelsen är beroende av kontexten där ordet används. I denna korpusbaserade studie undersöks adjektiven svår, komplicerad, hård och tung som, antingen i sin grundläggande eller metaforiska betydelse, relaterar till den semantiska domänen SVÅRIGHETER. I enlighet med Rakhilina och Reznikovas (2016) frame-metod ämnas adjektivens kontexter, och således även betydelser, beskrivas genom att identifiera vilka substantiv som respektive adjektiv vanligen kombineras med i svensk bloggtext. De kombinatoriska möjligheterna (och begränsningarna) ställs både i relation till varandra, samt i ett bredare perspektiv till tidigare forskning om motsvarande lexem på andra språk. Adjektiven svår och komplicerad tenderar att samförekomma med en relativt bred variation av substantiv, medan adjektiven hård och tung ofta används med arbetsrelaterade eller tidsrelaterade substantiv. Flest likheter hittades å ena sidan mellan svår och komplicerad, å andra sidan mellan hård och tung. Skillnaderna var annars mer påfallande, trots många gemensamma kollokat, eftersom adjektiven även kunde associeras till olika bibegrepp. Studiens upptäckter ger särskilt stöd för att det mellan skilda språk finns olika associationer mellan SVÅRIGHETER och de lexem som relaterar till domänen, och därmed ges ytterligare anledning för framtida studier att undersöka kontexterna där lexemen används.

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  • 25.
    Andersson, Jenny
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Scandinavian Languages.
    Läsning på olika nivåer: Läsguidesfrågornas påverkan på elevers läsförståelse och lässtrategier2018Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Ett vanligt sätt att arbeta med läsförståelse i skolan är att låta elever läsa en lärobokstext och svara på frågor om texten. I denna uppsats undersöker jag hur sådana läsguidesfrågor som ska fungera som stöd för läsförståelsen kan påverka elevernas läsförståelse och lässtrategier. Detta undersöker jag genom ett test där en högstadieklass får läsa en lärobokstext i historia från det digitala läromedlet Clio Online. Hälften av klassen får i samband med läsningen svara på textkontrollerande läsguidesfrågor, medan andra hälften får svara på inferensfrågor. Därefter får alla elever svara på enkätfrågor om textens svårighetsgrad och sina strategival under uppgiften samt kontrollfrågor som testar deras läsförståelse.

    Resultatet visar att eleverna som besvarar inferensfrågor ägnar längre tid åt uppgiften att läsa texten och besvara frågorna. Dessa elever visar en starkare metakognitiv medvetenhet, genom att färre av dessa elever överskattar sin egen förståelse av texten. Denna elevgrupp får också ett bättre totalresultat på kontrollfrågorna som testar deras läsförståelse. Detta indikerar att inferensfrågorna tycks styra eleverna till en djupare läsning och en bättre läsförståelse.

    Samtidigt får dock eleverna som besvarar textkontrollerande läsguidesfrågor ett bättre resultat på den kontrollfråga som efterfrågar en helhetsförståelse av texten. Fler i denna grupp anger dessutom som lässtrategi att de läste igenom hela texten snarare än att leta efter svaren i texten, vilket bör leda till en djupare läsning. Detta resultat verkar till viss del orsakas av att några av eleverna som får inferensfrågor tycks sakna antingen motivation eller förmåga att besvara dessa, och därmed inte blir hjälpta av dem i sin läsning. Resultatet kan också förklaras med att läsguidesfrågorna eleverna får vid ett tillfälle inte är det enda som påverkar deras läsning, utan de påverkas också av andra faktorer såsom motivation eller en vana vid vissa lässtrategier. Även elever som får frågor som leder dem mot en ytlig läsning kan alltså läsa på en djupare nivå, och tvärtom.

    Denna undersöknings begränsade omfattning gör att det inte går att dra några säkra slutsatser utifrån resultatet. Den försiktiga slutsats som kan dras är att för svåra inferensfrågor för eleven inte tycks hjälpa läsförståelsen, medan inferensfrågor på en lagom nivå tycks kunna leda till en djupare läsförståelse än textkontrollerande frågor.

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  • 26.
    Andersson, Niklas
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Stereotypes of English in Hollywood Movies: A Case Study of the Use of Different Varieties of English in Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and Transformers.2010Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This essay deals with the use of linguistic stereotypes in Hollywood movies. It investigates whether attitudes towards English dialects found in studies on perceptual dialectology are reflected in the selected movies and discusses the notion of linguistic identity and how standard and nonstandard speech, respectively, are used symbolically to emphasize features of characters in eleven movies from three different movie series, namely The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Transformers, with a main focus on syntactic and phonological dimensions. The essay finds a correlation between standard speech and features of competence and wisdom, and nonstandard speech and features of solidarity, sociability and traits of stupidity and humor. Moreover, very specific perceptions of certain varieties of English are probably utilized as amplifiers of equally specific characteristics of some characters. The use of dialects and accents in these movies is probably intentional and not coincidental.

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    FULLTEXT01
  • 27.
    Andersson, Petter
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Language attitudes in the People’s Republic of China’s leading English-language newspaper, China Daily2008Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Since time immemorial, various governments in China have attempted to promulgate writing reforms and speech reforms in order to unite the nation, mostly for political gain. The aim of this paper is to discover and analyze some language issues in the People’s Republic of China, specifically attitudes and comments on spoken usage of Putonghua (also called Modern Standard Chinese), Shanghai dialect, Cantonese and English by researching China Daily’s online newspaper article archive. A few valid articles could be retrieved and they uncovered that Putonghua, Shanghai dialect and Cantonese are all considered prestigious in different regions of the country; furthermore, English is gaining support rapidly, especially in corporate China.

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    FULLTEXT01
  • 28.
    Andersson, Stina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics, General Linguistics.
    Repetitioner i barnriktat tal under det första levnadsåret2015Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    A high proportion of repetitions is one of the distinctive features of child-directed speech (CDS). Research has shown that the percentage of repetitions in CDS varies over time depending on the age of the child. In addition, it is suggested that repetitions in CDS correlate with child language development. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible variations over time in the percentage of repetitions in CDS during the child’s first year, and to try to find a connection between repetitions and the child’s language development. Repetitions in parent speech in ten parent-child dyads as the children were 3, 6, 9 and 12 months old were investigated quantitatively. Exact and varying self-repetitions and exact and varying repetitions of the child’s utterances were investigated and compared to the same children’s linguistic level at 18 months of age. The results showed that the percentage of exact self-repetitions was more than 30 percent lower at the age of 12 months than at 3, 6 and 9 months of age. The total percentage of repetitions of the child’s utterances increased more than four times from 3 to 12 months of age. A connection was found between the repetitions during the child’s first year and the child’s language development, indicating that a low percentage of exact self-repetitions at 6 to 9 months of age correlated with a high vocabulary at 18 months of age. A link between the expressive language of the child and the repetitions in parents’ speech was suggested.

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    Repetitioner i barnriktat tal under det första levnadsåret - Stina Andersson
  • 29.
    Andersson, Stina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Swedish toddlers’ use of turn-final gaze in dyadic child-parent interaction2018Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Turn-final gaze at the interlocutor has been suggested to fill different functions in conversation: being monitoring, regulatory or response-seeking. 16 Swedish toddlers use of turn-final gaze in dyadic interaction with their parents was investigated at the ages 1;0, 1;6, 2;0, 2;6 and 3;0. The turn-final gaze behaviour was investigated for correlations to child age and language level. Additionally, child turn-final gaze in turn-final questions, in turns longer than 5 seconds and in different interaction contexts was examined.Results showed that the use of active turn final gaze increased over ages 1;0-2;0. No correlations between child use of turn-final gaze and child language level could be found. In turn-final questions, 93% of the turn-final gaze was active, i.e. was not present at the start of the turn. Turn-final gaze was used both during conversation and object-oriented interaction at all ages.A monitoring-response-seeking function of turn-final gaze was proposed to be used by the toddlers as a means to get the parent’s encouragement and approval of the child’s interactive language use. Additionally, the importance of choosing a suitable measure type of turn-final gaze while investigating small children was stressed.

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    Swedish toddlers’ use of turn-final gaze in dyadic child-parent interaction
  • 30.
    Andersson, Stina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Verbal contents of repetitions in Swedish child-directed speech2016Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Repetitions in child-directed speech (CDS) have been shown to vary over time, and are suggested to affect first language acquisition. Correlations between verbal contents of repetitions in CDS and children’s language development have been suggested. The verbal contents of repetitions in Swedish CDS have not yet been investigated.

    The aim of this study was to examine the verbal contents of repetitions in Swedish CDS during the child’s first 2 years and possible changes in proportions of repetitions during the same time span. Verbal contents of repetitions in parents’ speech in 10 parent-child dyads as the children were 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months old were investigated focusing on word classes, sentence types and whole-constituent change. The results were compared to the children’s productive vocabularies at the age of 30 months. Possible occurrences of item-based constructions and frequent frames in the repetitions were also examined.

    The overall results revealed patterns concerning change in verbal contents in repetitions over time and correlations between verbal contents in repetitions and child language development. Two proposals were made: parents adjust the complexity of their speech to linguistic developmental stages of their children, and linguistic variation in the input increases as the child grows older.

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    Verbal contents of repetitions in Swedish child-directed speech - Stina Andersson
  • 31.
    Andrea, Mogren
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    “It’s kinda intriguing”: A study of assertiveness and non-assertiveness in relation to gender stereotypes at a Swedish university2015Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The following study investigates if there are any differences in formulating questions and answers in an assertive or non-assertive way between the sexes that could be related to gender stereotypes. The material consists of audio-visual recordings, field notes and a transcription of the recordings, which were recorded and collected at a Swedish university. Four classes with a total of 71 students and four teachers where observed and recorded. The material was analysed and then sorted into categories of answers, questions, sex of the participant, participant role (i.e. student or teacher), assertiveness and non-assertiveness. The results show that although there are some differences between the sexes and different classes, these differences are not great enough to be related to gender stereotypes and are usually due to some circumstance related to the context of the present study instead.

  • 32.
    Anufrieva, Maria
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” – T.S. Eliot: A semantic analysis of selected metaphors in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot2012Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Metaphor is the most widely recognized and discussed type of trope. It has attracted the attention of analysts from various disciplines, e.g. philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, and literature. Research from these fields has shown that metaphors are ubiquitous and indispensable in our lives. It is not only literary discourse that is abundant with metaphors, but metaphors are also common in scientific discourse and even in our everyday language. Moreover, research from cognitive linguistics has shown that our thinking is metaphorical to a certain extent. Thus, if metaphors are so ubiquitous in our lives, how do we recognize them?

    In this paper selected metaphors from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot have been analyzed. These are metaphors from literary discourse; hence, the analysis was partly influenced by the genre and the specific, poetic context. The focus is on linguistic metaphors that can be identified in this poetic text, not on underlying conceptual metaphors. The aim of this paper has been to see how the metaphors in the poem are constructed and how the metaphorical part of the strings they occur in interacts with a seemingly literal part.

    According to the results of the analysis, the metaphorical constructions in the poem show a variety of modes of interaction among their constituents. Typically the metaphorical part of the poetic construction evokes a complex and directly perceptible phenomenon which serves as the basis for the understanding of the poetic persona’s feelings. Also the metaphors that describe the setting of the poem seem to be projections of the protagonist’s mood. Thus, the affective aspect of the metaphors is essential in the poem since it connects the metaphors to a network of meanings related to a prominent theme of the poem, namely the speaker’s paralysis and insecurity of himself, adding to the expressive complexity of the poem’s structure.

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    BA_Maria Anufrieva
  • 33.
    Appelgren, Hilda
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Locative clauses and existential constructions in Khowar2023Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The current study investigates how locative clauses and existential constructions are realized and differentiated in the language of Khowar [ISO 693–3: khw] (Hindu Kush Indo-Aryan, HKIA). Khowar is one of several under-researched languages in the Hindu Kush, and as of yet there is no comprehensive description of its linguistic structure. The data for this study was provided by Afsar Ali Khan (local linguist and native speaker of Khowar), in the form of a collection of transcribed traditional Khowar stories, told by speakers in the community. Samples of locative clauses and existential constructions were collected from the corpus, mainly by use of the concordance tool of Toolbox, after which an analysis was carried out. The results show that word order is the main strategy for differentiating locational-existential constructions and locative clauses in Khowar, that semantically bleached posture verbs are not a present strategy for creating locative clauses nor existential constructions, and that there are certain story-opening sequences with existential constructions that are typical of the genre represented by the data. Future research is suggested to focus on negative existentials in Khowar, the full distributional pattern of the actual and inferential copula in other types of non-verbal predication, and the extended use of the 3rd person singular past tense form of the actual copula, ɔʃɔj, which is no longer sensitive to the animacy distinction otherwise present in the Khowar verbal system.

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  • 34.
    Aras, Elizabet
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Education.
    Early Opportunities for Quality Learning: A Comparative Study of Swedish Preschools' Language Practice2014Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish preschool is internationally known for its high quality. Children in Sweden are given early educational opportunities to learn and develop prior to their school start. The Swedish preschool activity should include an overall language developmental approach; however, studies show that the children's conditions for language instruction vary intra-nationally. While the Swedish preschool curriculum reflects on children's desire to learn, the preschool staff should be aware of their own practical theory in order to arrange for learning. Research show that early childhood education of high quality benefits children's future school results. Thus, this research aims at studying children's opportunities for quality learning and development in the Swedish preschool, by exploring the content of preschool teaching. The role of the preschool is to provide all children with an education of high quality. This study aims at investigating what quality can mean in terms of preschool language instruction. To generate an understanding of quality, the study focuses on the structure and process inputs in six public preschools and two municipalities. To provide insights about the preschools' practices, a qualitative approach has been used to conduct interviews with preschool heads and employees from education administrations, as well as questionnaires with preschool staff and observations of learning environments. As the quality inputs vary between the preschools and municipalities it affects the outputs of the children's language development. This research makes it evident that the outcomes are mainly dependent on the preschool staff's abilities and competences of implementing development.

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    Elizabet Aras
  • 35.
    Ardabili-Farshi, Daniel R.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Länge leve livet: En lexikal typologisk studie om begreppet LIV med hjälp av en bibelkorpus2022Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This is a lexical typological pilot study that examines the concept of LIFE in eleven different languages. The main material consists of texts retrieved from the Bible, the New Testament. The study is based on the Koine-Greek lexemes for life, ζωή (zōḗ), ψυχή (psūkhḗ) and βῐ́ος (bíos). Probabilistic semantic maps have been created through multidimensional scaling for each language and have been analyzed with partitioning around medoids pam(). The results show two interesting phenomena. Firstly, zōḗ has been translated most consistently. psūkhḗ and bíos have been translated with more va- riation in most languages where several different lexemes have been used, and this indicates that their meaning is more varied. The Koine-Greek lexemes form a concep- tual structure, which means that the various concepts of LIFE is arranged according to a narrower and broader meaning. Secondly the results also show that the languages adapt their vocabulary to mimic this structure, it is most evident in languages with several lexemes for LIFE and how they are used to translate the three Koine-Greek lexemes.

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  • 36.
    Aronsson, Jonas
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Institute for Interpreting and Translation Studies.
    I dialog med tid och rum: Anföring, interpunktion och interjektioner i en kommenterad översättning av Yasutaka Tsutsuis ungdomsroman 時をかける少女 (Toki wo kakeru shoujo)2015Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This master’s thesis consists of a translation from Japanese to Swedish of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s Toki wo kakeru shoujo (The girl who leapt through time), and a commentary of the translation process. The purpose is to examine which problems may arise when translating reported discourse, punctuation and interjections, and what strategies can be used to solve these problems. The translation is performed with an orientation towards acceptability and the target culture, to try and conform the text to the norms and expectations of the target culture.

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  • 37.
    Arvidsson, Caroline
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Development of audience design in adolescents' reference production2021Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Compared to adults, children are less effective at designing their utterances to suit the informational needs of their audience. This listener-catering behaviour, known as audience design, has been hypothesized to rely on domain general cognitive mechanisms, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. Considering that adolescence is an important period of sociocognitive growth, research on the development of audience design beyond childhood is surprisingly scant. The aim of this study was to trace the development of audience design in early and middle adolescence, and test its reliance on cognitive control function. Participants (11–12 and 15–16 years) performed two tasks assessing (1) the ability to adjust referential expressions to inferred knowledge of hearers and (2) cognitive control function. The findings suggest that the ability to take into account the informational needs of listeners during utterance formation develops considerably between early and middle adolescence. Although performance on both tasks was higher in the middle adolescent group, the study provides no evidence for a reliance of the measured audience design behaviour on cognitive control function. Future research should aim to determine whether the development of audience design in adolescence is facilitated by an increased efficacy of knowledge state attribution processes.

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  • 38.
    Arvidsson, Caroline
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    The brain in conversation: Mapping the neural correlates of turn-taking, production, and comprehension using fMRI2022Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Conversation is the primary mode of language use. A key feature of conversation is turn-taking, during which interlocutors rapidly switch between speaker and listener roles without conscious effort. As previous neuroimaging studies have investigated language comprehension in isolated contexts, little is known regarding the neurocognitive bases of language use in reciprocal interaction. The present fMRI study investigates turn-taking, production, and comprehension processes, by utilizing existing conversational data between participants (N = 23) and a confederate outside the scanner. Turn initiations were associated with regions (the medial prefrontal cortex and the middle frontal gyrus) outside of the perisylvian core language network. Production and comprehension were both associated with core language regions in the temporal lobes, but activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus was mainly associated with production. Activation in the fusiform face area was linked to comprehension. The current findings suggest that (1) the coordination of speaker change is dependent on pragmatic processes that have been relatively overlooked in models of speech preparation, and (2) listeners are aided by their interlocutor's facial gestures when processing speech input during conversation. In addition, the results indicate that production and comprehension processes may differ (e.g., on the syntactic level), even in conversation.

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  • 39.
    Arvidsson, Emilie
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism.
    "Swipe up" för nyheter! Att nå generation Z: Interpersonella och visuella medel i nyhetsförmedlingen: En komparativ analys mellan SVT Nyheters och Aftonbladets TikTok-kanaler2023Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Denna studie jämför hur SVT respektive Aftonbladet använder den sociala mediekanalen TikTok för att förmedla nyheter till ungdomar och unga vuxna. Specifikt analyseras hur programledaren (och andra aktörer) använder språkliga medel för att bygga en relation med publiken i nyhetsförmedlingen, hur grafiska element samverkar med programledaren för att skapa begriplighet och väcka intresse, samt hur SVT och Aftonbladet skiljer sig åt vad gäller relation, begriplighet och intresse i nyhetsförmedlingen på TikTok. Undersökningens teoretiska ramverk utgörs av systemisk-funktionell grammatik (SFG) och sociosemiotik för att studera multimodal kommunikation. Undersökningens analysmetoder lägger fokus på den interpersonella metafunktionen och dess kategorier och begrepp för att besvara frågan om relation, samt visuell framskjutenhet för att studera de grafiska element som förekommer i TikTok-klippen. Undersökningen har sin grund i min praktik på SVT där det framkom att SVT nyligen lanserat nyhetsförmedling via TikTok i syfte att locka unga vuxna, den så kallade generation Z, och en direkt dialog med målgruppen genom återkommande studiebesök. Studien jämför användandet av språkliga och grafiska element i tre likadana nyheter från SVT:s och Aftonbladets TikTok-kanaler. Vidare genomförs en intervjuundersökning mot målgruppen för att få en initial empirisk återkoppling på de slutsatser som framkommer i den språkvetenskapliga analysen. Undersökningens resultat visar på tydliga skillnader i interaktionen mellan programledare och tittare i SVT:s respektive Aftonbladets TikTok-klipp. Slutsatserna ger därmed insikter till hur nyhetsförmedling på TikTok bör utformas för att nå den önskade målgruppen generation Z. 

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  • 40.
    Arvidsson, Sandra
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Communicative language teaching in grammar exercises: A study of CLT principle in grammar practice in Swedish upper secondary school ESL textbooks2023Independent thesis Advanced level (professional degree), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Communicative language teaching (CLT) made a breakthrough in the 1970s and has since made an impact in Sweden. Aspects of the teaching approach can be found in the National Agency of Educations commentary material as well as official syllabi for language teaching. CLT is not a unified way of teaching, rather it is an amalgamation of many ways of teaching, and there is a debate on how much emphasis grammar should be given in this way of teaching. There are however some common features of the approach. This study is examining grammar exercises in one Swedish upper secondary school textbook series based on some of these common features of CLT, contextualisation, personalisation, interaction, and scaffolding. The grammar exercises were analysed based on features of the principles, some of which were borrowed from Millard (2000), and some were established based on an initial scan of the material and the coding of the exercises were done twice to increase variability. The results indicate that CLT principles can be found in just over half of the grammar exercises in the books. Furthermore, there is an overall continuity within the books in regard to grammar and CLT principles. There are however a few differences. The principle of interaction is realised less in the books for English 6 and 7 compared to the book for English 5. The principle of contextualisation is realised to a higher extent in the books for English 6 and 7 than the book for English 5. The conclusion of these results is that while principles of CLT are present in textbooks, there is room for improvement and a teacher who wants to teach grammar communicatively might have to supplement the textbook’s grammar exercises with other material. 

      

  • 41.
    Asgharirad, Saeideh
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Applying Cognitive Linguistics to L2 Acquisiton: the Case of Over: An Experimental Approach to L2 Acquisition2015Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Many researchers have recently shown interest to Cognitive Linguistics and its potential intuitions for second language acquisition. There are several discussions and analysis (e.g., Tyler & Evans, 2003) regarding the complexity of interpreting the semantics of English prepositions and whether the distinct meanings associated with a single preposition are systematically related or not. Cognitive linguistics offers a promising analysis to L2 acquisition of prepositions, since it argues that the extended meanings associated with a single preposition are systematically related, and L2 speakers can learn them incrementally. Therefore, this study aims to explore the utility of using a cognitive linguistic based approach to evaluate the accessibility of Persian speakers of English to associated senses with the spatial preposition over. We offer an experimental approach in this study in which we use a cognitive linguistic based methodology to find out if the Persian speakers of English will make significant progresses in identifying the multiple senses of prepositions. Then, we discuss the reason why this approach can account the findings.

     

  • 42.
    Askman, Douglas
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Analysing Journalists Written English on Twitter: A comparative study of language used in news coverage on Twitter and conventional news sites2021Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The English language is in constant transition, it always has been and always will be. Historically the change has been caused by colonisation and migration. Today, however, the change is initiated by a much more powerful instrument: the Internet. The Internet revolution comes with superior changes to the English language and how people communicate. Computer Mediated Communication is arguably one of the main spaces for communication between people today, supported by the increasing amount and usage of social media platforms. Twitter is one of the largest social media platforms in the world today with a diverse set of users. The amount of journalists on Twitter have increased in the last few years, and today they make up 25 % of all verified accounts on the platform. Journalists use Twitter as a tool for marketing, research, and spreading of news. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there are linguistic differences between journalists’ writing on Twitter to their respective conventional news site. This is done through a Discourse Analysis, where types of informal language features are specifically accounted for. Conclusively the findings show signs of language differentiation between the two studied medias, with informality on twitter being a substantial part of the findings.  

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  • 43.
    Aspholm, Oscar
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics.
    Elusive Depictions of Time: An analysis of Japanese temporal connectors expressing 'before'2019Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study explores the two Japanese temporal connectors mae ni and nai uchi ni that express the notion of ‘before.’ These have been claimed to differ in factuality and certainty (Kuno, 1973) and on pragmatic grounds in the form of speaker attitude (Hasegawa, 2015). Using The Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese, this study investigates the veracity of previous findings and aims to further deepen the understanding of what sets these two temporal connectors apart. Rather than in factuality or certainty, they are found to differ in lexical aspect and predicate class tendencies, as well as the ability to express minimal scales that work similarly to negative Horn scales in the case of nai uchi ni. As these are more informative the smaller they are, this also explains the pragmatic aspects that have been identified in previous research.

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  • 44.
    Assadi, Sara
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Scandinavian Languages.
    Bäste Den det vederbör: En studie av artighet i skriftliga klagomål till en svensk myndighet2018Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    I denna undersökning analyseras hur artighetsstrategier och ansiktshot realiseras med Brown & Levinsons artighetsteori som grund. Materialet består av sextio skriftliga klagomål som Stockholms stads trafikkontor tagit emot mellan åren 1977 och 2017. De har skickats in via brev, mejl, mobilapplikationen Tyck till samt Stockholms stads webbplats. Syftet är att se vilka strategier som används för att uttrycka ansiktshot, men också för att kringgå dem. Resultatet visar att det förekommit olika tendenser vad gäller hur skribenterna uttrycker både artighetsstrategier och ansiktshot. Det tidiga materialet präglas av fler modala verb som signalerar lägre förpliktelse samt passiva verb och nominaliseringar för att utelämna mottagaren. Över tid ökar förekomsten av kritik och fler skribenter både ifrågasätter och nedvärderar trafikkontorets arbete. Mot slutet av mätperioden blir meddelandena dock opersonligare med färre aktörer och värderingar. 

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  • 45.
    Awaiko Westin, Carina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Perceptions of English accents in Sweden: L1 Swedish university students' attitudes towards the Nigerian Standard English and the General American English accents2017Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Language attitude studies have shown that different accents carry different status and peoples’ way of speaking gives rise to judgments of their character. However, there is little known about the effects different Standard English varieties have in Sweden. This study will investigate how L1 speakers of Swedish perceive and judge the speakers of the Nigerian Standard English and General American English accents in terms of credibility and how familiarity contributes to the listener’s judgment of these accents. A modified verbal-guise technique comprising stimulus recordings and questionnaires was used. 91 participants responded to a questionnaire containing 6 questions soliciting their perceptions of the target accents and their speakers. It was hypothesized that the participants’ familiarity to the GenAm accent as well as the high status of the accent in relation to the NSE accent would make the GenAm accent to be judged favorably compared to the NSE accent. The findings indicated that the GenAm accent was favored compared to the NSE accent. However, the findings did not support familiarity as a determining factor for the favorable judgments of the GenAm accent.

  • 46.
    Axelsson, Karin
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism.
    Att översätta anorexia: En översättningsteoretisk uppsats om översättningen av en memoar2023Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [sv]

    Detta kandidatarbete består av en översättning från engelska till svenska av ett utdrag ur Evanna Lynchs memoar The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting (2021), samt en tillhörande kommentar som behandlar de översättningssvårigheter som uppstått under arbetsprocessen. I sin memoar berättar Lynch om sin sjukdomstid i anorexia nervosa, och källtexten består av det avsnitt då hon bestämmer sig för att åka, samt anländer till en rehabiliteringsklinik för ätstörningar i London.

    I uppsatsen presenteras en övergripande översättningsprincip för arbetet, vilken baseras på Eugene Nidas teori om dynamisk ekvivalens, Hans Vermeers skoposteori samt Andrew Chestermans tankar om översättarens etiska förhållningssätt. Utifrån denna ram analyseras och diskuteras de översättningsproblem som påträffats under översättningsprocessen, samt hur de har bearbetats i enlighet med översättningsprincipen.

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  • 47.
    Axelsson, Marcus
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, The Institute for Interpretation and Translation Studies.
    En kat ved navn pluskvamperfektum: En jämförande studie av de skandinaviska översättningarna av L'élégance du hérisson2011Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The study investigates to what extent the Scandinavian translators use the same methods when translating. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish translations of the French novel L’élégance du hérisson are analyzed using Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958/1977) methodology. In the present study the translators are also questioned about so called situational factors that might have influenced the translation process and its outcome. There is a major focus on the methods that are characterized by indirect translation, since these in a clear way indicate differences. Results show that the translators use the same methods in 42 % of the cases in the analyzed material. Results also show that the indirect translation methods are widely used in the Danish target text and it hence also distances itself the farthest from the source text, whereas the Norwegian target text is rich in litteral translation and closest to the source text.

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    En kat ved navn pluskvamperfektum
  • 48.
    Azizi, Dena
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Secondary school teachers' views on printed vs. digital ESL textbooks2023Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    As digitalization has increased during the last decades, using digital tools as pedagogical aids have become more common in Swedish schools. Teachers have various possible materials to choose between, making materials evaluation a vital part of their work. A teaching material frequently used in English as a second language (ESL) teaching is the textbook, which nowadays is available as digital versions in addition to the traditional printed book form, allowing teachers to choose. This study examines Swedish lower secondary school ESL teachers' views on the advantages and disadvantages of printed and digital ESL textbooks and which one they prefer to use. By applying a qualitative method, four ESL teachers were interviewed. A thematic color coding analysis led to identifying the themes adaption/differentiation, the main language skills, systems of language, materials layout/organization, and a general category for practical aspects mentioned by the teachers. The findings suggest that these themes are aspects that teachers consider significant when discussing the advantages and disadvantages of printed and digital textbooks and that most of the participants prefer to use printed textbooks.

  • 49.
    Backhaus-Moya, Felipe
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    "Es como comprar un Lamborghini sin una licencia de conducir": Un estudio cualitativo sobre cómo los profesores se relacionan con la tecnologíade la información y la utilizan en la enseñanza-aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera2019Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [es]

    Resumen

    En este estudio cualitativo se entrevista a cinco profesores de secundaria básica de español como lengua extranjera (ELE) con el objetivo de investigar cómo emplean las TIC ( Las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación) en su enseñanza y cómo las usan el aula. Los resultados muestran que las TIC son utilizadas por todos los profesores, pero aquellos que están más interesados y han recibido una amplia capacitación en las TIC utilizan estas herramientas modernas con mayor convicción que sus colegas.

    Además, los resultados apuntan a que todos los participantes ven grandes ventajas con las TIC, ya que sobre todo motivan a los alumnos, aunque por otro lado hayan grandes desventajas con ellas y especialmente si los alumnos pierden el enfoque en la enseñanza-aprendizaje al realizar otras tareas ajenas a la asignatura en sus computadoras.

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  • 50.
    Bagdi, Maggie
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Teacher-student interactions in Secondary School contexts in Swedish ELT classrooms: from directives to expressives2023Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study examines the speech act usage and frequency in teacher-student interactions in Swedish English language teaching (ELT) classrooms in Secondary School contexts. This study aims to contribute with greater insight into speech act usage and frequency in the specific context of Swedish ELT classrooms, since research of this kind, conducted in Sweden, in countries where English is treated as a second language or ranked as very high proficiency in English, is scarce. The investigation was conducted through audio recordings during Swedish ELT lessons to capture naturally occurring speech in group work. The data were divided into content and instructional talk, additionally further distinguished into teacher and student talk in measuring their respective talk time, which was interesting for the analysis. The recordings of the lessons were transcribed and analyzed. The findings revealed that 717 speech acts were performed during 86,91 minutes of talk time, with the teacher producing the majority of speech acts and occupying most of the talk time, while the students accounted for 25% of speech acts and 35% of talk time. In addition, directives and representatives were the most frequent speech acts, with 38% and 37%. Expressives and indirect speech acts were less frequent but still present in the interactions, and commissives were the least frequent, with 6%. Furthermore, the results disclosed a difference in the most frequent speech act used by the teacher respective to the students, with the teacher mainly utilizing directives at 45% followed by 27% representatives. In comparison, the students mainly exploited representatives with 69% and 16% directives. The findings of the present study revealed a higher pragmatic ability than EFL learners with their appropriate use of speech acts.

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